October 1952
The Mark C 2/3 seater Standard Tourer
featured a reshaped body with headlamps mounted in the front wings,
a Villiers 6E 197cc engine and a 3 speed direct change gearbox.
It had a tubular front engine mounting with the front wheel mounted
on a trailing arm and 
a new worm and sector steering arrangement
which then allowed 180o steering, lock. (instead of 90o)
Suspension at the rear was by "six-hole" Flexitor bonded
rubber units and the brakes operated on all three wheels. Electrics
were still 6 volts for the horn, wiper motor and lights. The front
head and side lamps were 12 watt / 3 watt capacity whilst the single
rear tail lamp now incorporated a brake light and used an 18 watt
/ 3 watt bulb. Starting was by means of a floor-mounted handle and
cable to a modified kickstart lever. An electric starter was available
on the Deluxe Tourer (but the floor-mounted handle was retained
- just in case!)
Vehicle length 9' 10", width 4' 9", height 4' 0" and weight 460 lb.
June 1953
Villiers 8E 197cc engines and a chain adjuster were introduced.
October 1953
Features to be introduced for the 1954 season were: New shape Triplex windscreen and frame, rectangular section front trailing arm with revised front brake back plate and new chain adjusting method, steering shaft and gearchange lever U/J's eliminated, cubby hole in dash removed, dash mounted grab handle introduced for all vehicles, battery moved from the bulkhead to the left hand front wing on non-electric start vehicles, introduction of a mounting bracket for the spare wheel, sidescreen stowage clips added and a "two roll" seat squab with a straight top edge replacing the earlier rounded type. Steel was also used for the rear wings when supplies of aluminium became difficult to obtain.
October also saw the production of the
only known Mark C Minivan. It was shown at the November 1953 Motorcycle
show and appears to have entered service at Sharp's Commercials
as their daily delivery van. When it was featured in the Spring
1963 Bond Magazine, it had just completed 100,000 miles of stop/start
motoring.
March 1954
The Family Safety model introduced. A
restyled rear body with two inward-facing hammock seats allowed
two small children to be carried behind the front seat. It had new
rear sidescreens, reshaped front sidescreens and the hood had a
roll-up flap at the rear. A rear bumper was fitted to all Family
Safety models regardless of them being a Standard or a Deluxe version.
October 1954
The start of the 1955 model. The major
new feature was a redesign of the braking system with the aluminium,
pendant pedal being replaced by steel type
attached to a cross-shaft and operating
a revised linkage. To supplement the use of aluminium, some bonnets
and rear wings were now being made from glass fibre. Red Vynide
had already been introduced for hoods and interiors also became
Red only. Tourer models now had rear bumpers. All Deluxe versions
also had front bumpers fitted and a leathercloth covered dash. An
improved design of silencer was introduced.
October 1955
The start of the 1956 model. All vehicles had a new type II front grille and bonnet and the windscreen rubber was fitted with a new cream filler strip on the outside. Family Safety models had new shape glass fibre rear wings and new style rear lamps (Lucas type 549) A rear apron between the body and the bumper was fitted to all Family Safety's and all Deluxe Tourers. Chrome headlamp hoods and front wing side strips were also fitted on the Deluxe.
Chassis Number Range: D/10/3392 to H/5/11796
Total Mark C Production = 6,399
